The Skywalkers: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 5)

by JC Ryan

  Instead, they were gazing at vistas of forested hills, snow-capped peaks that might have inspired the 'purple mountain majesties' of the song. Salome nearly forgot their mission in her desire to stay right there and explore the lakes and mountains of Bighorn National Forest. They decided to stay in town for the night, both a little daunted by the complications of their camping gear. In the morning, they'd do what they could to explore the back roads. Salome began to realize that the task to find somewhere that no one ever went would be more than a two-week jaunt. Unless they stumbled on somewhere early on. This wouldn't be it. Too many people knew of this hidden beauty to expect to find a secluded area.

  The next day brought confirmation of her fears. No matter how small the road they turned down, there was traffic. Maybe only a little, but she was looking for somewhere they could be the only car on the road for an hour or more. They explored for several hours, then reluctantly left the area and headed toward the next town north, Sheridan, where they'd again get off the main road and explore in the north end of the National Forest.

  If they didn't find anything suitable there, they'd go on to Billings, and then turn west toward Gallatin National Forest, dipping back into Wyoming to travel through it toward Bozeman. Salome couldn't explain to Roy exactly what she was looking for, but she'd know it when she saw it. It needed to be a spot where a nearly unnoticeable road went, unimpressive where the smaller road left the larger one, but leading to an area where they could build a compound that, though unobtrusive, would house around a hundred, maybe more.

  Hard decisions would have to be made about whom they could shelter. More than a hundred, and it would be too easy to find them.

  Salome mentioned her concerns to Roy. The area needed to be heavily wooded, to shield their buildings from satellite imagery. It wouldn't be perfect; the satellite cameras were too good. Ideally, she was looking for a heavily wooded area on the sides of mountains that would be accessible only with four-wheel drive, on roads that were barely used.

  ”What about a cave,” he responded.

  “That would be even better, if we could find one that isn't on the grid as a tourist attraction. Even a small one, where we can retreat if a hostile force did find the compound.”

  She'd seen some likely areas on the topographical maps, comparing them with satellite images Roy had printed out. It appeared there were some areas on the images so deep in shadow that they could hide almost anything. Unless that meant the land was so steep they couldn't build on it, those were the best bets. All of them were in the Gallatin National Forest, though, so it was worth exploring Bighorn, simply for the closer location.

  They drove in companionable silence except for the brief moments when one or the other had another thought about the requirements for survival they must take into account. Salome was impressed as always with Roy’s thoroughness. He had an entire list of his own inventions that would be helpful, like the water filters JR and Robert had taken on their jaunt, only much bigger, the reverse-engineered lighting from Paradise Canyon in Antarctica, and more. He had plans for others he hadn’t yet had time to build, and some things they expected the environment to provide if they were lucky, like geothermal energy.

  They’d fallen silent for a while, when, out of the blue and totally off topic, Roy asked, "Do you think it's possible to make love in a tent?"

  Salome smiled. "Oh, I'm almost certain it is. Let's find a camping spot and find out."

  Chapter 13 - No intellectual curiosity

  Having reached the canyon wall, JR and Robert decided to use an old strategy, one they utilized in Antarctica while seeking an exit from Paradise Valley. This time, they'd go an agreed distance, JR walking back toward the way they'd come and Robert going further along the wall. The GPS should have been accurate to within a couple of yards, but there was no indication of a side canyon here that they could see. They agreed to go a mile, each in their own direction, then turn around and meet back in the middle to report findings.

  As it happened, though, they were still within easy earshot when Robert found it. A narrow fin of the lowest stratum hid the entrance to the canyon from view. Since they hadn't been separated for more than three or four minutes, he halloo'd for JR to turn around and join him. JR let Robert take the lead as they slipped into a crevice that met all the criteria of a slot canyon. The walls were carved in fantastic shapes, but overhead there was only a tiny sliver of open rock. Looking down from a plane, no one would ever see it.

  No wonder it wasn't on any maps except the one that the Rossler Foundation cartographer drew from the description and coordinates in the Tenth Cycle library. Even the obscure reference was vague. The Tenth Cyclers hadn't found the spot, either; and yet, someone had known of it. It was a mystery best left to the translators, but at least they'd found what might lead them to the Eighth Cycle facility. From here on out, they'd have to go slowly and keep a careful watch. There was no description of what they were looking for. JR could only hope they'd recognize it when they saw it.

  They'd been walking and sometimes crawling in the slot canyon and Robert was several yards ahead of JR when he gave a shout of surprise. JR hurried forward and found Robert teetering on the edge of a drop-off that opened into a much wider corridor. The floor of the wider area was at least twenty feet below.

  "How the heck was this formed?"

  Robert answered him with an absent mutter. "Had to have been some kind of shifting, but this is the wrong kind of formation for that. We're standing at the bottom of nearly a mile of sedimentary rock, and the water level of the river is above that floor. Why isn't it full of water?"

  "I don't know. Maybe because the river's about a quarter of a mile away by now?"

  "These strata are porous. The water should find its way here."

  Both men considered the implications of the dry bottom of the canyon. "Well, it doesn't look like it's in any danger of flooding. Let's get down there."

  Robert studied the surrounding walls some more, then shrugged. "Might as well."

  The drop-off wasn't as sheer as it had seemed to JR when he first saw it. It was an easy scramble for both of them, and as they turned to look back where they came from, they realized it would be an easy climb back up as well. From the floor of the crack in the rock, they could see no way out except back the way they came from. It was an eerie feeling, being closely surrounded by cliffs over a mile high. JR had the uneasy sensation of waiting for the walls to close in and crush them. Robert didn't seem worried though. He was already heading for the opposite end of the crack in the earth. JR quickly followed.

  About a quarter mile from where they'd climbed down, the crevice took a sharp turn away from the direction JR thought the river lay, and immediately opened into a wider segment. Robert consulted his GPS. "It should be along here somewhere. Look up, all the way to the top of the walls, make sure we don't miss it."

  JR scanned upward from where he stood, wondering how they'd ever see an opening if it were hidden the way the slot canyon that led them here had been. To add to the difficulty, the sun had sunk far to the west much earlier, and it was now deep dusk in their narrow spot.

  "Let's make camp for the night. We'll be able to see better in the morning."

  "Good point."

  It was then that they realized, both dropping their jaws in unison. They were miles from water. How would they survive the next day without going back to the river? It was a little like the old riddle about the fox, the chicken and the corn, only instead of having to figure out how to get all three across the river, JR and Robert would have to figure out how to make it any farther than they'd gone if they had to continually go back for more water.

  By the time they'd discussed the dilemma, it was too dark to see the climb up to the slot canyon, so they decided to conserve what little water they had left, and go back to the river the next morning for more.

  JR was restless, his brain working on a different solution instead of allowing him to sleep when the moon rose, flooding
his resting place with light. Despite the dilemma that they weren't sure they had a viable solution for yet, he was deeply content. The silvery light made it almost as light as day, and fell on the rock in a palette that was both monochromatic and variable enough to discern the different layers. A glint of light off something that was moving caught his eye.

  "Robert."

  A muffled oath responded.

  "Robert, are you awake?"

  "I am now," Robert said, sitting up and glaring at JR, whose attention was on the wall nearby. Robert followed his gaze. "Is that...?"

  "I think maybe."

  "I didn't see that before."

  "Neither did I, till the moonlight hit it. How can we mark the spot? We'd kill ourselves trying to get there tonight."

  "Agreed. Let's see if this little toy will do something about it."

  Fumbling with the GPS, Robert found a mode he thought would work. He aimed it like a theodolite at the glimmer of light and pressed the record button. Then he set it carefully on a flat spot, aimed in the same direction. With any luck, he'd be able to duplicate the vertical and horizontal angles in the morning, and they'd be able to locate their water supply.

  "Dude, you said the water would find its way through." JR's crow of delight rang off the nearby walls.

  "Yeah. Let's just hope it doesn't all find its way through at the same time. Could I get some sleep now?" Robert asked.

  "You don't really think...?" But Robert was already asleep. JR cast a suspicious look at the trickle of water. Surely that wouldn't flood even a fraction of the box canyon they found themselves in, would it?

  ***

  It was still dark at the bottom of their box canyon when JR woke with a jerk. He'd fallen asleep with his eyes fixed on the trickle of water that would mean, he hoped, that they wouldn't have to backtrack for the precious fluid this morning. He rolled over to see if Robert was awake yet, then sought the spot where the water had been last night. No joy. With no light glinting on it, he couldn't see it. He didn't panic, though. Robert's combination GPS-surveying device had the coordinates, he thought.

  Thinking about water made him thirsty, but he was cautious enough not to gulp the remaining water in his Camelbak. Just a sip would have to do until they knew whether they could take advantage of the artesian trickle above.

  "You're up bloody early, mate," Robert said, from his sleeping spot a few feet away. He'd rolled from his back to a propped-up position and was watching JR scan the canyon wall. "Breakfast ready?"

  JR grinned. "You bet. Bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs, whatever you want."

  Robert snorted. "I think I prefer this dry energy bar, thanks."

  JR shrugged and opened his own energy bar. "Your loss."

  Getting an early start was a good thing, since they still had to either climb to the water or backtrack to the river. As soon as it was light enough to see what they were doing, Robert started climbing, but soon came to a sheer rock face. He set a piton, then dropped the filament through it to JR to belay, and continued his climb. He was close to eight-hundred feet above the canyon floor when he reached the seep.

  Robert set his feet and leaned back in his harness. This was going to take a while. The trickle of water was just that. Now that he was close, he could see the desert varnish--the dark stain that flowing water creates on sandstone--indicating the seep was permanent. It flowed through a tiny flaw in the rock, nothing more than a crack, and spread out as it dropped until it was nothing more than a wet area of sandstone. Robert assumed it evaporated rapidly when the sun hit that portion of the canyon wall, which was why it never reached the bottom.

  To fill the Camelbak was going to take some ingenuity. Fortunately, he had that. Praying that it wouldn't backfire, Robert set a piton at the bottom of the crack and watched to see if the water would flow along it. He heaved a sigh of relief when it did. Now to hold the bladder of the backpack where the drips that were forming on the end of the piton would fall into it. At the rate it was going, he estimated he'd be hanging here for at least an hour, to fill both packs. He blessed JR's foresight in emptying everything but the bladders from the packs. They were going to be heavy enough with just the water.

  As he waited for the bladders to fill, Robert occupied his mind by speculating about the source of the water. There was no doubt it was above the highest level the river would reach, even in flood season. Naturally, Glen Canyon dam above them on the watercourse would regulate flooding this far south, but it wasn't an issue. This was ground water, thankfully filtered through nearly a mile of porous sedentary rock, so there'd be no need for their water filter to be sure of purity.

  Robert was also curious about something else. This box canyon was an impossibility. Unless there were a turn up ahead that led out below the level of the floor where he and JR had slept last night, there was no way for natural processes to have carved it. The Grand Canyon was carved by the river, supplemented by wind. Even the slot canyon that led here could have been a leftover from an earlier time, long before the dam, when the water level of the river was perhaps higher. But, the canyon being 20 feet below, with no apparent outlet at the other end, that was impossible without geologic shift, and that didn't happen in such a small, localized area.

  He was still thinking about it when he returned to the floor of the canyon, but he thought he had the answer.

  "JR, we're close."

  "What makes you say that?"

  "This canyon. It can't be natural. Something the Eighth Cyclers did made it subside."

  JR stared at him a moment. "You mean, we may not find anything?"

  "Not necessarily. I can think of several reasons. But unless I miss my guess, this facility we're looking for is under our feet somewhere. We just need to find a way to get down to it."

  ***

  Before they went any further, JR suggested they set up a grid, at least in theory, since they really had no way of marking one off physically. If they were looking for something underfoot, rather than an opening in the canyon wall, they needed to focus on a small area at a time and thoroughly explore it before moving to the next. It was time to survey the canyon, make sure there were no turns in the walls hidden by close perspective and shadows, like the slot canyon had been. But first, JR tried the satellite phone, hoping to let Daniel know that they were in the right area. Unfortunately, without a repeater at the top of the canyon rim, he'd have to have some luck hitting an Iridium satellite directly overhead. But, there was no luck today. The call wouldn't go through, with no satellite signal detected.

  The two men set to work, using the small device that Robert carried. After a few hours, they had a digital two-dimensional map of the canyon, which proved to be only a quarter-mile wide on average, and less than half a mile long, in an irregular shape that in no way resembled a modern building's footprint. Though light reflected into the canyon, it was too deep and the walls too steep to admit sun at any time other than right at mid-day. From this, JR concluded that any light source they found in the facility would likely not be solar-powered, assuming the canyon hadn't subsided in the fifty-thousand years or so since the Eighth Cyclers built it. Robert had stated his assumption was they had deliberately sunk it to conceal it. It was a good a guess as JR was willing to make, so they were operating on that theory.

  The question was, how did the inhabitants get here? Not to mention the supplies it would take to build what was described as a hardened facility. That surely implied it wasn't carved out of the living rock. Furthermore, the effort required to remove enough material from underneath to both build a facility and sink it to this level would have been staggering. JR and Robert discussed the various ways it might have been done as they began walking the virtual grid, beginning at the right of the drop from the slot canyon and up against the wall it dropped from.

  "They could have built it above ground and then sunk it," JR said.

  "I guess fifty-thousand years could have created this solid-looking canyon floor, but I wouldn't expect it to be this
even. We should be able to discern the shape of the building, with the edges of the canyon floor several feet at least below the middle."

  "Oh, I guess you're right. But maybe they dug just under the footprint of the building.”

  The mental picture was so ridiculous that even JR admitted it was far-fetched. Of course, the whole thing was far-fetched. However, after the revelations from the Tenth Cycle and the discovery of a tropical paradise enclosed in the caldera of a dormant volcano in Antarctica, far-fetched had become the new normal. The explorers had to agree that if there were a facility here, and it was in fact Eighth Cycle people who built it, they weren’t likely to understand the technology.

  JR stopped to wipe sweat from his forehead. "You know what?"

  "No, what?"

  "We'll figure it out when we find the damn thing, so let's just work."

  Robert laughed. "You have no intellectual curiosity." He ducked as JR aimed a playful swipe at him from three yards away. "Hey, even your arms aren't that long."

  The pair worked diligently until it was too dark again to see anything. Cursing the lack of foresight that left the nano lights Roy had reverse engineered from Paradise Valley at home, they once again went to sleep long before the moon crested the canyon rim to shine its light on the key to their puzzle.

  Chapter 14 - Where do we fit into all this?

  Luke grew more concerned about what he was seeing in Salome’s Spiderweb while he was minding the farm, so to speak. Once he started watching it every day, he decided it had been a mistake to let Salome leave without filling Daniel in. Never one to second-guess himself, he nevertheless approached Daniel with a lead-in, both to ease into it for Daniel’s sake and to protect Salome from any backlash.

  He chose a moment when he ran into Daniel in the canteen. “Hey, Daniel, I was going to come to your office after my break. Want to grab our coffee and have a little pow-wow?”

  “Sure. What’s it about?”